Wakefield

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  “In some old magazine or newspaper I recollect a story, told as truth, of a man—let us call him Wakefield—who absented himself for a long time from his wife. The fact, thus abstractedly stated, is not very uncommon, nor, without a proper distinction of circumstances, to be condemned either as naughty or nonsensical. Howbeit, this, though far from the most aggravated, is perhaps the strangest instance on record of marital delinquency, and, moreover, as remarkable a freak as may be found in the whole list of human oddities. The wedded couple lived in London. The man, under pretense of going a journey, took lodgings in the next street to his own house, and there, unheard of by his wife or friends and without the shadow of a reason for such self-banishment, dwelt upward of twenty years. During that period he beheld his home every day, and frequently the forlorn Mrs. Wakefield. And after so great a gap in his matrimonial felicity—when his death was reckoned certain, his estate settled...

Loneliness (part 2)

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Last time we thought together about how loneliness is rooted in one’s relationship with God and we examined what God has done to restore the relationship. Once one enters the new life by faith in Christ Jesus, suddenly we find ourselves inheritors of Christ Jesus Himself! We gain a person, not a thing!

God promised Joshua that the basis of his courage on forth-going was the very presence of God Himself (Joshua 1:9). God’s presence (“for you are with me”) is the very heart of the 23rd psalm!

The Lord is my shepherd (“for you are with me”)
I shall not want (“for you are with me”)
He makes my lie down in green pastures (“for you are with me”)
He leads my beside quiet waters (“for you are with me”)
He restores my soul (“for you are with me”)
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (“for you are with me”)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (“for you are with me”)
I will fear no evil, for you are with me
Your rod and your staff comfort me (“for you are with me”)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (“for you are with me”)
You have anointed my head with oil (“for you are with me”)
My cup overflows (“for you are with me”)
Surely goodness and loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, (“for you are with me”)
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (“for you are with me”)

Our parents may abandon us, but the LORD will take me up (Ps 27:10, 71:9, 18; Is 49:15). Heaven is not a place where God dwells, but God Himself makes heaven what it is! The believer makes his dwelling in God Himself (Ps 90:1). God is omnipresent, everywhere! No person can be where He cannot! (Ps 139:6-12) The believer enjoys this abiding presence (Is 43:2) as we have already seen that the unbeliever does not. He is with us to the end of the age (Mt 28:20)!

Not only does the believer have the promise of God’s abiding presence, but also God’s provision! “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19) The true believer needs to grasp the fact that there is nothing that can separate him from the love of Christ: death can’t do it; life can’t do it; angels or powers can’t do it; there is nothing in the past, present or future that can do it; there is no height, depth, nor anything created that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Ro 8:38-39)!

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to Timothy asking him to come, stating that he had been deserted by Demas (who loved the world more), Crescens and Titus. Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him as Luke is already there with Paul. It seems that those who left Paul did it at a very crucial time of his life—he was defending his participation in the gospel (part of the reason he was arrested) and when he looked up and they were gone! “But,” he says, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth.” (2 Tim 4:9-10; 16-17)

Here we would be served to confront the truth in two areas of our own lives:

  1. When am I feeling most lonely?
  2. What should be my reaction when I feel this way?

Think about it.

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